200,000 Apply To Live On Mars

I hope that the Obamas are on that list. They long, expensive vacations at government expense. They'd be perfect.

If you have ambitions of being one of the first people on Mars, listen up: A Dutch company says it is moving along with its plan to send four lucky Earthlings to colonize the Red Planet. The catch: They won't ever come back.
 

This first mission will demonstrate technology that would be involved in a permanent human settlement on Mars. If all goes well -- and that's still very much an "if" -- the first pioneers could land on Mars in 2025.

Enthusiasm has been growing since the project's first big announcement in April. More than 200,000 people have signed up to be prospective astronauts, Mars One CEO Bas Lansdorp said in Washington on Tuesday.

Apparently, they're OK with living out the rest of their lives on Mars. The technology for a return flight doesn't exist -- there's no Kennedy Space Center launch pad over there! -- and having a one-way trip greatly reduces costs, the company has said.